(Oct. 30, 2015 - by Harold Goerzen)  A tall, Southern gentleman with a gregarious personality and a bottle of Coca-Cola protruding from his hip pocket, Herb Kinard didn’t fit the stereotype many people have of engineers.

But in the 1970s or 1980s, whenever a piece of broadcasting equipment or a teletype machine broke at Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, Kinard was the one they often called upon to fix it.

“Herb was skilled in making electronic equipment perform, or if needed, he could redesign the equipment to work better,” explained Reach Beyond retirees Doug and Darlene Peters. “He loved the ministry he had through engineering…. He served God faithfully and touched many lives.”

“He giggled as we dialogued on the merits of a cold Coke so early in the day with salted peanuts cohabitating in the same bottle after he’d taken his first swig,” described veteran missionary broadcaster John Adams upon his first encounter with Kinard some 40 years ago in Quito. “He was unique, outgoing and consistently upbeat in His walk with and service for the King of kings.”

Kinard, a Reach Beyond retiree who had served with the mission for 27 years, died on Sunday, Oct. 25, in Signal Mountain, Tenn., following a brief illness. He was 82.

Jones Herbert “Herb” Kinard was born in Hartford, Conn., on May 18, 1933, but grew up in Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla.

After graduating from Andrew Jackson High School in Florida in 1951, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Florida for two years. He met Faye Morey in southern Georgia, and they were married on Aug. 28, 1954.

Kinard held a number of technical and mechanical jobs before joining Reach Beyond. He was a resident engineer at IBM in Sumter, S.C., for 15 years and worked on communications systems for the U.S. Navy and the Naval Air Station in Atlantic City, N.J. He was also a microwave technician at Western Electric and an aircraft mechanic for Baine Aircraft Co. in Jacksonville.

As a ham radio operator and shortwave listening enthusiast, Kinard first heard of HCJB, Reach Beyond’s pioneer missionary radio station in Quito by listening to the broadcasts, especially the program, “Old Fashioned Melodies,” hosted by Ruth and Jack Shalanko.

He wrote to the organization and was put in contact with missionary engineer Steve Hunter who was traveling on home ministry assignment in nearby Charlotte, N.C., at the time. As a result, Kinard decided to take a tour of the station in Quito in April 1968.

“That’s when we saw firsthand the need for technical people on the mission field,” Kinard said in an interview several years ago.

The Kinards met with representatives and missionaries from several organizations, and in 1969 they applied to both Reach Beyond and Far East Broadcasting Co., ultimately deciding to serve at HCJB in Quito.

In preparation for full-time ministry, Herb and Faye studied at Columbia Bible College in Columbia, S.C., for two years (1969-1971), also doing representation work for the mission at local churches and ministerial associations during this time.

After raising their financial support, the Kinards began Spanish language study in San José, Costa Rica, in August 1972 and arrived in Quito 10 months later along with their three children, Frank, John and Patricia.

Initially, Herb Kinard served as a “hoot owl” at the radio station, working the nightshift like the other missionary men who took turns helping with night security at the compound. He would later become involved in all phases of engineering/technical services in Quito as well as at the former international transmitter site in Pifo and the hydroelectric plant in Papallacta where he was the resident engineer-in-charge.

“A most satisfying experience was the time spent living in Papallacta and supervising the operation of the hydro plant and learning to understand and relate to the people of Ecuador,” Kinard said. “I feel like we were beginning to earn the right to be heard.”

Longtime missionary engineer Don Larson, based in Brownsville, Texas, said that despite Kinard’s busy schedule, “he always had time for people. It didn’t matter if you were a VIP or hoi polloi, he would have time for you. In my opinion, this was one of the most obvious ways that Herb emulated Christ in his daily walk with God.”

“Herb was from the South, and not only his diet reflected that fact, but so did his colloquial expressions,” Larson added. “I will never forget my favorite which he often used when something was very disagreeable: ‘It was like sliding down a 20-foot razor blade into a bucket of alcohol.’”

On weekends, the Kinards helped with Good News Clubs in the Quito neighborhoods of La Colmena, Llano Grande and Llano Chico.

After leaving Ecuador in 1984, the Kinards did representation work for partner ministry Inspiracom (formerly World Radio Network) in the U.S., helping to establish and manage one of the network’s FM stations, KBNJ-FM, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“I used to tell people that I was convinced that Herb was born with a screwdriver in his hand—he could fix anything,” said Dave Throndson who served alongside Kinard for 15 years. “He could also create something out nothing. Around 1990 when KBNJ was still a fledgling station and not yet financially self-supporting, we needed a device to air live telephone calls. Costing $2,000, we had absolutely no possibility of buying such a device. But Herb went to Radio Shack and bought a bunch of ‘stuff.’ I don't know how he did it, but he built an on-air system that could broadcast telephone calls through our broadcast board, and he did with $40 in parts!”

When Joe Fahl became KBNJ’s manager, he was concerned that Kinard might be resistant to the “dramatic program changes” that he was planning. “In one of our first meetings, Herb said, ‘We just want to step out of the way and let you do it.’ And he was always supportive.”

“I also remember him down on his knees, playing with our son who was just learning to walk,” Fahl continued. “Herb would treat our children like his own grandkids. On a professional level, he was in charge of the technical needs at the station, and I never had to worry about that aspect of KBNJ.”

“He was a kind, gentle man who like all our engineers in Inspiracom worked tirelessly to keep our broadcast systems going as well as performing a myriad of non-engineering tasks for our network,” added Glenn Lafitte, director of corporate affairs at Inspiracom.

Upon retiring in 1999, the Kinards moved to Signal Mountain, Tenn. Herb and Faye became involved with the ministries of Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church and made time for spoiling grandkids.

For several years Kinard had a part-time job delivering orchids from a local nursery to the surrounding metropolitan areas and helped maintain the mechanical systems at the nursery. He enjoyed the opportunity to work, but treasured involvement with people and the community.

In his spare time, he enjoyed being an amateur radio operator, learning new computer programs, repairing both pipe and reed organs, doing photography and flying small aircraft. But his greatest passion was to use his technical skills to serve God and make Him known to people around the world.

“Herb was not only an excellent co-worker, he was my neighbor,” noted Ron Cline, a former Reach Beyond president now serving as an ambassador for the mission. “I saw him almost every day. The thing I appreciated about Herb was his steadiness. Nothing ever seemed to bother him. If I had had a bad day, I knew visiting Herb would calm me down. His smile, his wisdom and his laughter was a joy to be around. Heaven will be enriched by his presence.”

In addition to his wife, Faye, of 61 years and their three children, he is survived by a brother, Charles, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son, Robert.

A celebration of life service was held on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church. The family has asked that memorial donations be made to Reach Beyond.

Source: Reach Beyond